Fire truck approved

The six-month search for a new fire truck culminated Thursday evening, when the Craig Rural Fire Protection District board of directors approved the purchase of a 100-foot articulating aerial platform fire truck for the department.

Total vehicle cost is $926,034.

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MaxFire Apparatus of Castle Rock was chosen as the low bidder for a Rosenbauer T-Rex ladder truck that will meet aerial ladder truck needs of the city of Craig for the next 20 to 25 years.

The new truck meets American Firefighting Standards and will replace the department's 30-year-old Engine 2, Johnston said. The city's land use code recently increased the building height limitation in Craig to 50 feet from 35 feet, and the reach of Engine 2 was about 40 feet.

The truck purchase includes three sections, built in different locations that will be assembled before delivery, which is expected to take 14 months.

The trucks cab and chassis is built in Charlotte, Mich., where a $416,250 prepayment will save the fire district nearly $34,000 and begin the process.

The truck will be sent to Germany for the installation of a Metz articulating platform ladder assembly.

The truck's final assembly including the body and pump will be installed on the vehicle in Wyoming, Minn., before being delivered to Craig Fire/Rescue.

"This is the largest purchase we will make as a department," board member Alan Webber said. "The group in charge of researching the equipment did a good job of presenting the information to the board."

A work group, consisting of firefighters John Felten, Shayne Sperry, Randy Decker, Capt. K.C. Hume and Deputy Chief Bill Johnston, began researching the vehicles last year when a matching Department of Local Affairs grant was approved.

The group visited several locations where the equipment is manufactured, and talked with firefighters familiar with the apparatus.

The fireboard had budgeted $925,000 for the aerial truck, with 50 percent of the money coming from a matching DOLA grant offered to counties impacted by energy exploration and extraction.

The group also looked at a Pierce Sky-Arm truck out of Gillette, Wyo., and an E-One Bronto articulated aerial truck located in Aurora before making the purchase.

An articulated truck can also be used for rescues and firefighting below the grade level of the vehicle.

Minor modifications to the fire station will be made to accommodate the new vehicle.